Yorkton Terrier netminder Dawson McAulay, who had a couple of near misses including one at Kindersley which was ruined with about a minute left in the game, managed to record his first SJHL shutout Friday night at the Farrell Agencies Arena against the visiting Melfort Mustangs.
McAulay says earning a shutout was a good feeling, but he feels the team was playing very well in front of him and deserved to win.
The Melfort goalie was holding the Mustangs in the game for the first couple of periods. As a result he says he knew he had to be alert to avoid giving up any easy goals. The team sealed the deal in front of him to give him the shutout, he asserts.
He notes that the Mustangs had a short bench and didn't have the legs the Terriers did. Melfort played hard but the Terriers battled back equally hard to limit their opportunities. "We played well in the D zone, didn't get greedy at anytime during the game. We just played hard at both ends of the ice and it really paid off," McAullay states.
He's aware of his size. "I've always been the big goalie," McAulay says. Throughout the years he's been able to develop a technique he uses to his advantage, he suggests. He's worked at being as quick as shorter goalies. "If I can stay in a good position, then I can really use my size to advantage," he claims.
As a bigger goalie, he can use his size to stay a little deeper without staying too deep and giving shooters too much net.
McAulay says the Terriers have been on a bit of a roll, earning points in the last eight or nine games. The players are pretty happy and looking forward to the playoffs. "We think we have a pretty good team here to make a good run. The atmosphere is pretty good here and we're just ready to go, he closes.
